Can my ex-wife claim Social Security benefits on my record if we were married 20+ years?

Yes, your ex-wife can claim ex-spouse benefits based on your record as long as: 1) your marriage lasted at least 10 years (which it did at 22 years), 2) she remains unmarried, 3) she's at least 62, and 4) the benefit she'd get on your record is higher than what she'd get on her own. Her claiming doesn't reduce your benefits or your current wife's benefits at all. It's completely separate. Your remarriage doesn't affect her ability to claim on your record either.

That's a relief! I was worried my current wife might get less somehow. Do you know if my ex needs to wait until I file for my own benefits before she can claim on my record? Or can she claim even if I haven't started taking mine yet?

my aunt got divorsed after 15 yrs an she gets benifits from her exs SS. they told her she had to wait till she was 66 or something to get the full amount but she could take less at 62. doesnt effect him at all

Thanks for sharing that example. Good to know other divorced spouses are navigating this successfully. I think my ex turns 62 next year too, so this timing question is important.

To clarify some details: Your ex-wife can claim on your record without affecting your benefits or your current wife's benefits. Normally, she would need to wait until you've filed for benefits first. However, there's an exception - if you've been divorced for at least two years (which you have), she can file on your record even if you haven't started collecting yet.What she'll get depends on when she claims. At her Full Retirement Age (66 or 67 depending on birth year), she could get 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). If she claims earlier, like at 62, that amount is reduced - potentially to as low as 32.5% of your PIA.The SSA will automatically give her the higher of either her own benefit or the ex-spouse benefit. She doesn't get both added together.

how can they calculate benefits based on his record if he hasn't filed yet??!! makes no sense. my ex tried this and SSA said they couldn't do anything until I filed. this is why the system is so broken!!

The SSA can calculate his PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) even if he hasn't filed yet. They have his complete earnings record in their system. The special rule for divorced spouses allows claims after 2+ years of divorce regardless of whether the ex has filed. However, the ex-worker needs to be at least 62 (eligible for benefits) even if not collecting yet. This rule exists specifically to prevent one ex-spouse from blocking the other's benefits.

When I went through something similar, I couldn't get ANYONE on the phone at Social Security. Spent hours every day for weeks trying. Then I discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puUOnce I finally talked to someone, they explained all my ex-spouse benefit questions much better than anything I found online. Totally worth it to speak to an actual person who could see my specific situation in their system.

does this claimyr thing cost money? seems sketchy to pay just to talk to the government

It does cost something, but after wasting weeks trying to get through myself, I was happy to pay. Not sketchy at all - they just have a system that waits on hold for you so you don't have to. The SSA agent I spoke with knew exactly what to do about my ex-spouse benefits situation.

I think there's a lot of confusion about divorced spouse benefits. Your ex-wife can get up to 50% of your full benefit amount IF she waits until her full retirement age (probably 67). But she can choose to take reduced benefits as early as 62. The amount she gets has NOTHING to do with how much or when you claim. But here's the thing most people miss - if her own retirement benefit would be MORE than half of yours, the SSA will just pay her own benefit instead. They don't stack or combine the amounts. She just gets the higher of the two.My ex tried to claim on my record but ended up just getting her own benefit because it was higher.

That's interesting. She worked sporadically during our marriage, with lots of years with zero income while raising our kids. I'm guessing her own benefit calculation will be pretty low, so the 50% of mine might be better for her. I wonder if the SSA will just automatically calculate it both ways and give her the higher amount?

Yes, the SSA automatically calculates both ways and gives her the higher amount. She doesn't need to choose one or the other. And regardless of which calculation ends up being higher, it has zero impact on your benefits or your current wife's benefits.

i heard somehwere that ex-wives can't claim if the husband remarrried???

That's not correct. An ex-spouse's right to claim benefits on their former spouse's record is not affected by either person's remarriage. The ex-spouse claiming benefits must remain unmarried to claim on their former spouse's record, but the worker (in this case, the original poster) can remarry with no effect on what the ex-spouse can claim.

oh ok my bad. glad I asked!

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! Just to clarify what I'm understanding: My ex can claim on my record once she turns 62 (next year). She'll get up to 50% of my full benefit if she waits until her FRA, or a reduced amount if she claims early. It doesn't matter that I've remarried, and her claiming won't affect my benefits or my current wife's future benefits. And because we've been divorced more than 2 years, she can claim even if I haven't started collecting yet. Did I get that all right?

You've got it exactly right. The only other thing to add is that the SSA will automatically pay her the higher of either her own retirement benefit or the divorced spouse benefit (up to 50% of your PIA). She'll only receive the divorced spouse benefit if it's higher than her own retirement benefit.

Perfect, thanks again! I feel much better understanding how this works now. I appreciate everyone taking time to explain.